Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya giant strides in Gombe
By Ben Ngwakwe, Gombe
The Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, has budgeted a total of N369.9 billion in 2025 to cover all sectors of the state economy and governance hence government is said, to be a continuation.
In 2007, according to the Gombe State Government of Nigeria, fourth Edition, the total population was 1.85 million while in 2022, according to the National Population Commission of Nigeria, the population is 3,960,100 and the projected population for 2025 is around 4,037,696.
According to 2006 Census, Gombe State is divided into 11 local government areas with populations based on the 2006 census.
*Akko LGA*: 337,853
– *Balanga LGA*: 212,549
– *Billiri LGA*: 202,144
– *Dukku LGA*: 207,190
– *Funakaye LGA*: 236,087
– *Gombe LGA*: 268,000
– *Kaltungo LGA*: 149,805
– *Kwami LGA*: 195,298
– *Nafada LGA*: 138,185
– *Shongom LGA*: 151,520
– *Yamaltu/Deba LGA*: 255,248
Also, the total number of Gombe State Civil Servants is 52,000, made up of the civil servants from the state is 18,000, Local Government workers is 15,000 and Local Government Education Authority 17,000 respectively.
These figures stated above excluded the State Pensioners that is 8,000 and Local Government pensioners of 7,000 , all feed into the sectors of the state economy as contained in budget including unexpected expenditure.
They often say that civil service is the engine room of government hence in the context of civil service administration, the two key aspects of manpower that are crucial for the effective running of government are:
Quantity (Manpower Planning) which ensures that the government has the right number of employees with the necessary skills and expertise to deliver public services efficiently and this category of manpower involves workforce planning and forecasting, recruitment and staffing and Training and development which Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya has keyed into it as part of his philosophy of governance.
The second category is Quality (Personnel Development) that focuses on the development, motivation, and well-being of individual employees to enhance their performance and productivity. This second includes performance management and evaluation, career development and succession planning and employee welfare and motivation , the bottomline is the Government pays salaries and other allowances as when due to the personnel in the state civil service.
This pertinent issue has been addressed systemically and excellently to ensure that both quantity and quality aspects of civil servants with skilled were motivated and also productive workforce enhanced to deliver effective and efficient public services that is built on transparency and accountability, which again, is the hallmark of the administration of Dan- majie Gombe.
These are some of the indications that Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya is doing well in Gombe State, if we should judge his administration based on some of these indices.
Another consideration is the way efficiency and productivity under the pragmatic leadership of Governor has put in place to address these issues hence improving productivity, that has led to the reduction of bureaucratic bottleneck and streamlined processes for easy management in the state.
Again, training and development is another focus of the Governor, , the Government of Inuwa Yahaya is investing in employee training and development programs, such as capacity-building initiatives, workshops , seminars and conferences that can enhance manpower services , as of today, some senior civil servants and others are in overseas for training , this also excluded local and national knowledge- packaged activities that the Governor sponsored.
Furthermore , employee engagement and motivation; the Gombe people will agree, with this writer, that without fear of ill- will, that Gombe State Government pays salaries on every 25th of each month, hence employee satisfaction, motivation, and engagement are critical indicators of effective manpower services as shown from the stakeholders engagements and town hall meetings held to collect their views/ opinions on prioritised projects , for example, budget preparation and projects executions by Governor was based on their demands of people in the state.
Notably is accountability and transparency, as a professional accountant, the Governor ensures that Implementing transparent and accountable systems for manpower services can improve governance hence he publishes his scorecards and his financial activities for public scrutiny through various media platforms.
Detribalised natural of Governor in the handling the diversity and Inclusion by ensuring that everyone is carried along in his Governance and that nobody is marginalised in terms of ethnic background, religion and political affiliation .
This is done through spreading the projects, political appointments across the three senatorial zones of the state including non – indigenes.
You don’t expect the Governor, to be careless in terms of financial management as professional who is faced with anti- corruption agencies such as EFCC, ICTC, and media, he knows the useful ways to invest Gombe money so that prosperity will acknowledge his contributions to the state, for example, is he has turned Gombe State Government House into an “Aso Rock” if not in Nigeria but in North East subregion through massive infrastructural revolution put in place which every right thinking Nigerians, no doubt, will appreciate those transformative projects.
Another enduring legacy is Citizen-Centric Services that was recently demonstrated by Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, by signing the Gombe State Disability Protection Law that promoted the empowerment, inclusion, and well-being of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the state.
The establishment of the Gombe State Disability Commission ,apart from other benefits ensures that PWDs have access to education, healthcare, and social justice which was denied to them for decades.
Apart from the creation of a commission that oversees the implementation of the law, the commission works towards empowering PWDs and ensuring their inclusion in society, promoting social justice and protecting their rights as well as providing support for agricultural development, resulting in increased food production and economic growth.
The Governor who does not believed in sharing public fund for frivolous purposes has renovated Special Schools for disabilities.
The renovation of existing Special Schools and the establishment of new ones, provided more opportunities for education and skill development of people with disabilities.
Gombe State Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya has implemented several initiatives to improve manpower development in the state. Some of these packages include:
implementation of 10 year development plan for the state coded ( DEVAGOM).
This Development Agenda for Gombe State (DEVAGOM) is a 10-year development plan aimed at harnessing the state’s potentials and tackling challenges to attain development objectives, including manpower development
It also focuses on human capital development that prioritizing education, health, and youth development to empower citizens and improve the state’s human capital.
The administration puts agricultural transformation drive that is aimed at harnessing the state’s vast irrigation potentials, promoting rural infrastructure projects, and creating jobs while providing functional health centers in each of the 114 wards, equipped with basic equipment and manpower to provide 24-hour services, is another legacies of the Governor.
Another achievements of the administration is the philosophy of Network 11-100, an initiative aimed to open up rural infrastructure project and also at connecting and opening up rural communities, promoting economic growth and development .
Beautifully, is Gombe Goes Green coded (3G) an initiative focused on environmental sustainability and promoting green practices in the state as well as the investment in Education aimed at improving education in the state, including the Better Education and Service Delivery for All (BESDA) project.
This analysis is imperative judging on the sidelines of political pundits that accused some notable Journalists in the state that the Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya is not sharing public fund frivolously hence little statistics of some of the achievements can help us to know the working of Government.
The Inuwa is a performing Governor based on the numbers of projects and development brought to the state which this single write – up cannot cover all.
With this development, there is no way, the Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, cannot satisfied the yieldings of people of Gombe State who massively and patriotically voted him into office by delivering the dividends of democracy.
This analysis, no doubt, is to put records in proper perspective as one of the oldest Journalists who have been covering Gombe State for about three decades and have first hand information about the creation of the state in 1996 that had progressed to the time of the present Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, who is the third Governor of the state under the present democratic dispensation and the fifth in the number of administrations that had governed the state since it’s creation from Group Captain Joseph Orji rtd, Lt Col Inuwa Bawa rtd, Alhaji Abubakar Hashidu, Senator Mohammed Danjuma Goje, Senator Ibrahim Hassan Dankwombo and the current Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya.
In Gombe State, the people are fortunate to have Governors who really worked and continue to work for the progress and development of the state since it’s creation but the sidelines of Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, is that he doesn’t give money for frivolous purposes but for infrastructural development, the Governor should be given thumb up.
Chief Ben Ngwakwe writes from Gombe
